Empire Conquest

Chapter 629 - 625: Key Evidence

The last part of the message had been encrypted three times, the beginning mentioned a cipher code.

Seeing this part, Zheng Jiangming seemed to think of something and took an unopened envelope from his locked briefcase.

Inside was a one-time pad.

Zheng Jiangming appeared very speechless because he had always considered it a "brilliant stratagem," never expecting it to be a cipher exclusively used by the Sixth Bureau.

Fortunately, there wasn’t much content in the thrice-encrypted section.

After decoding it, Zheng Jiangming glanced over the message and then handed it to Bai Zhizhan.

It was an operational command issued to the Fleet Commander.

Proceed at full speed to the designated sea area and to a set of coordinates used in Navy mapping.

While Zheng Jiangming went to consult the sea charts, Bai Zhizhan had already taken his seat.

For ease of use, or rather to improve charting efficiency, the Navy’s coordinate system was different from civilian ones, but all naval officers specializing in navigation had to master it.

Bai Zhizhan had minored in navigation studies back in the day.

Upon seeing the coordinate data, Bai Zhizhan suddenly understood.

Zheng Jiangming was also formally educated, albeit not as diligent as Bai Zhizhan in not having minored in navigation, but he could still pinpoint the location using military sea charts.

The coordinates were northeast of the Howay Islands, less than 2,000 kilometers from Gold Bay!

"This..."

"Do you think that after the military coup erupted, Chur managed to escape from Luntai and reach the Newland Federation alive, just by luck?" Bai Zhizhan said, looking up at Zheng Jiangming with a gaze full of complexity, all suspicion, and uncertainty.

Zheng Jiangming paused for a moment, then chuckled wryly and shook his head.

"To be honest, I dare not think too deeply about what’s in here." Bai Zhizhan exhaled and then added, "Perhaps they guessed this outcome before the event happened."

"If you ask me, they were probably secretly in contact with Wallace from the beginning, or at least with someone close to Wallace."

Bai Zhizhan didn’t make a sound; he had no authority to speak on matters related to intelligence.

Zheng Jiangming didn’t continue either; after all, this was baseless speculation.

After sitting for a while and calming his emotions, Bai Zhizhan summoned his staff to call Zhou Yongtao and issue orders to the three Special Mixed Fleets.

Before dawn, Bai Zhizhan had given orders to all the fleets.

Apart from the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet, which was far away and retreating toward Transfer Island, the other three Special Mixed Fleets remained on standby northwest of Honu Island.

In addition, the two Special Mixed Fleets tasked with support and covering missions, primarily comprising smaller carriers, had already arrived.

In a few days, several other support fleets following the operations of the Landing Fleet would also arrive, increasing the number by over twenty fast escort aircraft carriers.

In short, there was no lack of force for a strong offensive.

With the arrival of fleets from all directions, an attack could be launched at any moment, so even without the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet, the impact was insignificant.

The plan had taken into account the possibility of the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet being severely damaged and losing its combat effectiveness.

One mustn’t forget, the mission of luring the enemy performed by the twenty-second Special Mixed Fleet was highly prone to suffering an attack, making it unlikely to return unscathed.

If it was merely carrying out a secret mission, three Special Mixed Fleets would clearly be more than sufficient.

In East Ocean, with six large new carriers, the power wielded by the three Special Mixed Fleets was unquestionably formidable.

Only after receiving responses from the Special Mixed Fleets did Bai Zhizhan go to have dinner, then returned to sleep soundly.

Having gone without rest for several days, not just Bai Zhizhan, but even young men like Zhou Yongtao were utterly exhausted.

In those few hours, a lot had happened.

He and Zheng Jiangming’s conjecture, or rather the "prediction" of the Sixth Bureau, had mostly come true.

On the evening of the 19th local time, just a few hours after Wallace had taken the oath as president in Gold Bay, the Newland Congress, in an urgently convened plenary session, passed a bill submitted by Hale, officially declaring Wallace’s act of taking the presidential oath in Gold Bay a violation of the constitution.

After that, Hale, in his capacity as Secretary of State, signed an arrest warrant for Wallace.

However, before that, the Newland Army stationed in Gold Bay had already sworn their loyalty to the new president.

What’s more important was that Rofuss’s personal secretary had arrived in the northwest region and had seen Wallace when Hale was signing the arrest order.

For this reason, Wallace then announced that Hale was a federal traitor, guilty of treason.

Crucially, Wallace’s charges were not baseless.

At the same time as making the accusations, Wallace revealed a piece of crucial evidence.

It was a recording tape that Rofuss’s personal secretary, Missy, had brought out from Grey Palace, which recorded the last moments of Rofuss’s life during his conversation with Chur.

During the negotiations with Rofuss, Chur had explicitly mentioned that Newland military and political officials, including Hale and Marshall, all supported him, that is, the Bulan exiled government led by him to take over Maple Country and to temporarily implement comprehensive wartime control over it.

Of course, this included forced conscription.

Just in the first phase, they intended to recruit three million soldiers in Maple Country and form the Bulan Kingdom’s Overseas Corps.

Chur also hinted to Rofuss that Hale had agreed to provide the Bulan Kingdom’s Overseas Corps with weapons and equipment, as well as the funds needed for the operation of the exiled government.

After Chur mentioned this, Rofuss suffered a brain hemorrhage due to his emotional outburst!

From their conversation, it was clear that Chur was threatening Rofuss, implying that many in the Newland decision-making circles were supporting him, and Rofuss had to face reality.

Obviously, this alone was enough to prove Hale’s treason.

Although as Secretary of State, he was responsible for foreign affairs, Hale had no authority to make such significant decisions, nor could he promise foreign leaders anything without Rofuss’s permission.

But there was more to it than that.

In the last part of the recording, about five minutes had elapsed before Chur called for the Grey Palace staff.

That is to say, Chur had watched Rofuss die in front of him!

In fact, this was also the main reason why Rofuss’s life secretary, Missy, fled Huacheng with the tape and sought refuge with Wallace in Gold Bay.

Only Wallace could bring the murderer to justice!

If Hale were to come into power, then those responsible for Rofuss’s death would escape the arm of the law!

It must be acknowledged that Missy was more than just Rofuss’s life secretary; she truly loved Rofuss and was willing to do anything for him.

Unfortunately, defeating Hale with just a life secretary and a tape of dubious origin was obviously wishful thinking.

Under the laws of the Newland Federation, even if the tape genuinely came from Grey Palace, it would lose its value as evidence once it left the Palace.

Only if preserved inside Grey Palace or transferred to the investigative authority by the Special Service Bureau could it be used as evidence.

The key was still the core interests.

Wallace’s number one opponent wasn’t Hale, but Admiral Marshall mentioned by Chur in the conversation.

This man was the Newland Army Chief of Staff, the highest commander of the Army!

Wallace might control Gold Bay and the Newland Army in the northwest region, but with his little prestige, he certainly could not control the Newland Army.

Without military support, Wallace couldn’t dream of returning to Huacheng to take charge.

In fact, even in the northwest region, not many in the military supported Wallace.

That was key to why the Navy headquarters had sent orders for Bai Zhizhan to lead the Fleet eastward.